Thursday, February 12, 2015

Juli Furtado in 1991

1991 was Juli's first full year on Yeti. She was world champion
having only been racing mountain bikes for a half season and road bikes
for a year prior. She raced an aluminum ARC almost exclusively and had
numerous versions of the frame. Here is a photo retrospective of that
year examining the bike details.

This is a french magazine article featuring Juli's bike. This is a very early ARC and notable for the fact it has a FRO-like one-piece rear end. I've never seen a single other ARC frame like this. Other key frame details include the enclosed top tube cable stops, black Yeti decals, and black Furtado decal. Specialized Ground Controls which she would drop soon for Onza Porcs.

First race photo from the season. She's in world champion stripes, a jersey she would seldom wear during the year. Juli wore four jerseys that year: Standard Yeti, NORBA series leader, Grundig World Cup leader jersey, and World Champion. Juli says the day's jersey decision was made for her, which I always found odd. But it illustrates her loyalty to her sponsor. Here she's in her WC stripes. Looks to be same bike from the french mag. Doug Bradbury Manitou (pre-Answer) fork. Drops the thumbshifters as well for Rapidfire M092? units.

Big Bear, likely May 1991. No obvious changes to the bike. Decal placement suggest she's still race the early bike with the FRO-like rear end. The Onza ad also shows a loop near the bottom bracket which supports this.

This is one worth taking a second look at. Who is this ad for, Onza or Panaracer? There are two different, competing products from two differing companies being promoted in the same ad? What's also interesting is that this is clearly Big Bear and at this race she had Onza decals on her bar ends, yet these decals seem photoshopped out (years before that was possible).

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, Memorial Day, May 1991. First we see of a bike change, and some key component changes as well. Frame has white Yeti decals and cleaner cable stops. Gone (temporarily) is the steel FTW stem for what looks to be a team-cut Answer ATAC. One would think this would be a perfect race to showcase the World Champion jersey, but nope.

An unknown World Cup race. Looks like bike #2 with a steel Yeti stem back on. Early race since she doesn't have the leader's jersey.

In the States for a World Cup. Not sure where this is, but it's probably Traverse City or Hunter Mountain. Oakley frames are unique to this race. Still has the Bradbury fork.

Not sure where this falls. It's kitted out like one of her race bikes with her name on it, but that's it. It has the later cable stops and a carbon accutrax. Clearcoated frame with alternate Yeti decals. I find it hard to believe this was a race bike.

Mammoth World Cup. Now in the Grundig leaders jersey. Still using XT, so probably mid-summer before XTR was available. Has a newer, Answer-made Manitou fork and Panaracer Smokes, despite Onza being a team sponsor

Here is particularly strange photo. It's mammoth, but they're putting the Grundig jersey on over her Yeti jersey.

I dont know where this World Cup race is, but it's the first we see of her new XTR parts. my guess would be Sierra Nevada, Spain.

NORBA finals at Mount Snow, Vermont. Lots of changes. Notably she's wearing the NORBA jersey, and my theory is that this was required for the finals. Purple Ringle post and skewers, XTR, but back on Porcs? A lesser race program would probably just have run whatever, but Yeti did what they could with what they had, sponsorship be damned it seemed.

With Parker, post race. Looks like a team-cut ATAC

Back in Europe for another late season World Cup. This time in the WC stripes.